The Real You
by lavendere
Summary: Kiyoko/Yachi Superhero AU Hitoka Yachi has been keeping the peace as Soleil for a while now, and has even developed feelings for her partner, Night Crow. She hopes that revealing their secret identities to each other might lead to something more.


"I want to know who you really are." Hitoka's heart was beating fast. The other girl, Night Crow, looked at her silently, with an unreadable expression on her masked face. "I mean, I really like being with you when we're working together, and I thought you might feel the same, unless….?" _Why am I doing this? You fight crime with someone for a few months and then you think you're soulmates… I'm really pathetic, aren't I?_

"I…" She started, after a pause. "I might need some time to think about that." The icy December wind played with her dark cloak, making her even more intimidating and beautiful than usual. The fact that they were standing on top of a skyscraper at night didn't hurt either.

 _She doesn't want to tell me. Of course not,_ Hitoka thought. _I don't blame her._ "Well, if you're not sure…" She hesitated. Maybe this was too much. "You could meet me at the park tomorrow, if decide you want to, and we could get ice cream! And um, if you don't then I'll just… be there." She mumbled the end of her sentence, hoping Night Crow wouldn't notice how sad that sounded.

"Sounds like a plan." Night Crow smiled, Hitoka was sure that if she could see her eyes the smile wouldn't reach them. "I should be going now. I'll see you… sometime." She took of sprinting, and gracefully leapt off the edge of the rooftop, gliding out of Hitoka's view.

 _Mysterious as always._ She sighed, now alone. _Why did I have to fall for someone who will never like me back?_

After Hitoka was home and trying to fall asleep, she recalled the first time she met Night Crow. It was September, and she had just rescued a kitten from a tall tree. It was an easy job, even for her. After all was over and done, she planning on making her exit by crossing the street and taking off into the air. But as she was crossing the street, a car came out of nowhere. Hitoka was sure she would have died that day if it weren't for Night Crow swooping in and taking her out of harm's way at the last second. From then on the two worked as a team, and even though she didn't know her true identity, the other girl made Hitoka feel safe, sometimes even powerful.

It was too much to hope for that they would ever be more than just teammates.

Kiyoko looked in the mirror and saw Kiyoko. Not a hero, and not the person that Soleil wanted to meet. Recalling the way the other girl looked at her last night was heart-wrenching. She knew that Soleil thought that she wasn't interested in meeting the real her, and that couldn't be further from the truth. From the day they met, Kiyoko was infatuated with her. Or maybe infatuated wasn't the right word. Kiyoko was _inspired_ by her. The way Soleil fought with everything she had, even if she wasn't very strong physically made Kiyoko want to try even harder. There was also the way that Soleil made her more confident. She wasn't sure why, but whenever they were together, she felt even more secure in herself than she usually did as Night Crow.

She sighed. The problem was that she wasn't Night Crow. She was too shy, too quiet, and too boring. Sometimes she felt that outside of her secret identity, she had no identity. Kiyoko stared at her reflection intensely. From this point, she knew she had two options: either stay home and let Soleil think that she didn't care for her, or get dressed head to the park, and who knows what would happen after that? Her heart started speeding up. She looked out the window, it was a bright, sunny day, and the snow outside was slowly melting. Soleil was probably already at the local park, thinking that she would never show up. It was time to prove her wrong.

Hitoka sat on a bench, trying to play a game on her phone. The bright sun made the screen nearly impossible to see, but she was pretty sure she was losing. She gave up and closed the app, sighing as she leaned back on the bench. _Why am I even still here?_ She closed her eyes, resolving to wait a few more minutes. The sounds of kids playing and birds chirping in the distance made her feel almost peaceful.

"Hello."

Hitoka quickly jerked her head up. Standing in front of her was a girl roughly her age, with glasses and dark hair. It couldn't be- could it?

"N-Night Crow?"

The girl smiled a dazzling, definitely Night Crow smile. She extended her hand to Hitoka, who hastily stood up to shake it. "Actually, it's Kiyoko." She said.

"Hitoka." She smiled nervously. "Sorry, this is just…" The other girl gazed at her steadily. "Really weird."

Kiyoko reached up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. "In a good way, or a bad way?"

"Huh!?" Hitoka startled. "I mean- In a good way, of course! It's just that seeing you here, without your costume, is very…"

"It's okay, I understand." Hitoka relaxed a bit. "And I agree, it is strange." Kiyoko gave her a reassuring glance. "When we first met, I certainly didn't expect that I would be meeting your civilian identity a few months later."

Hitoka laughed uneasily. "Yeah… But here we are." There was a pause. "I feel like I know you pretty well , though."

Kiyoko tilted her head. "We have been through a lot together, haven't we?"

"It's part of the job, I guess. All the scary things. All the exciting things." She recalled memories, all of the defining moments that led her to love this person. "There's a certain bond that you form, I think, when you go through weird and scary and exciting things with someone." Her heart sped up slightly as Kiyoko looked at her.

"That seems… Plausible." Kiyoko's eyes darted away.

Hitoka looked down at her feet. "I asked you to meet me here because I wanted to get to know you even better. On a more personal level, I mean."

"I know." Hitoka looked up. "I also realize that last night, it seemed like I wasn't interested in meeting you. And I need _you_ to realize that that's not the case."

"Huh?"

Kiyoko drew in her breath sharply. "It was very difficult for me to work up the courage to come here today."

"What do you mean?"

"I was nervous because I know that when I'm Night Crow, I act differently than I do normally." She averted her gaze from Hitoka. "And I thought you might be disappointed, because the real me isn't quite as exciting." Kiyoko smiled bitterly. "It's painful for me, because I really like you, and I want you to feel the same."

"You really like me?!" Hitoka blushed intensely, both because of Kiyoko's words and her sudden outburst.

Kiyoko looked up. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that."

Her heart raced. She felt the urge to pinch herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming. There was a lull in the conversation, Kiyoko was shifting her weight uncomfortably.

 _It's now or never._ Hitoka stepped closer to the other girl, and gingerly reached out for her hands. Once Kiyoko's palms were resting in her own, she looked into her eyes, which were widened in surprise.

"Kiyoko," She began. Even though calling the girl by this name was new to her, it felt natural and familiar, in a way. "Even though I've known you as Night Crow for the past few months, and you've known me as Soleil, everything that happened between us was real." She hoped her palms weren't sweating too much. "And it happened to _us_. Everything we accomplished, everything we said, all our feelings," Kiyoko was the one blushing now. "All of it was real."

There was a pause, Hitoka's courage was fading, and her shyness starting to catch up with her. She let go of Kiyoko's hands, and as her own fell to her sides, she felt that they were, indeed, sweaty.

"So…" Kiyoko said quietly, breaking the silence. "You really do feel the same way about me?"

Hitoka smiled. "Yeah. I really do."

They were still standing close, the bright sun shining down on them as they looked at each other's faces, which were so new to them both but somehow didn't feel unfamiliar. The sounds of the park now seemed far away, and Hitoka could feel her heart pounding.

"Is it okay if I kiss you now?" Kiyoko said, barely louder than a whisper.

Instead of responding with words, Hitoka stood on her toes to reach the other girl's face, and pressed her lips against Kiyoko's. Her lips were warm and she smelled like mint mixed with vanilla.

"Wow. I almost can't believe that just happened." Kiyoko said after pulling away. She was smiling that smile of hers. _That smile I love,_ thought Hitoka. They just stood there for a moment, giggling together and taking it all in.

"It was all real." Hitoka looked up at her, and reached for her hand. "How about that ice cream I mentioned?"

Kiyoko laughed again. "You know, it was really nice meeting you, Hitoka."


End file.
